


In Her Arms

by TheLonelyJournalKeeper



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Crushes, Crying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Jossed, Mutual Pining, Not Canon Compliant, One Shot, Post-Episode: s06e10 Prickly Pair, School Dances
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-21
Updated: 2020-03-21
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:20:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23241631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLonelyJournalKeeper/pseuds/TheLonelyJournalKeeper
Summary: In the days following the events of Prickly Pair, Steven is more lonely than ever. Then Connie arrives with an interesting proposition--a school dance.
Relationships: Connie Maheswaran/Steven Universe
Comments: 18
Kudos: 111





	In Her Arms

**Author's Note:**

> I was really in my Conniverse feelings after Prickly Pair so I started writing this. Kinda late now, but I think we can still use some Conniverse hurt/comfort.

Steven frowned thoughtfully as he watered his forget-me-nots, trying to decide if they were looking any better today. It was hot and humid inside the greenhouse, and Steven wiped his brow as he sighed and set down the watering can, deciding to wait another day to see if they perked up before he did anything. 

He surveyed the rest of his work. The greenhouse was bursting with plants—flowers of every color, shrubs of every shape and size. Ivy crawled up a trellis on the far wall. It brought Steven no satisfaction. 

His thoughts were interrupted by a sharp knock at the door, and he turned, startled. “What? Pearl, I told you—“ 

“Steven!” said the voice reproachfully. “It’s me!” 

Steven’s heart leapt, and his eyes widened. He raced for the door and yanked it open. “Connie?” 

“Surprise!” she said, smiling at him. She was wearing a white top and blue jean shorts, and she was the most welcome sight Steven had ever laid eyes on. 

“Y-you’re here!” he said, suddenly realizing he was sweaty and covered in dirt from working in the greenhouse. He dusted his hands on his pants. “You should’ve told me you were coming!” 

“I did, silly,” she said. “You forgot to check your phone.” 

“I—what? Oh.” He patted his pockets. “I must’ve left it inside,” he said sheepishly. 

“That’s okay,” she said. “I’m sorry I haven’t been able to visit much. I’ve just been so busy with school!” 

“Yeah,” Steven said. “Uh, that’s cool. You know, I’ve been busy and stuff too.” 

“Yeah?” she said, smiling. “How are you, Steven?” 

“Fine,” he said quickly. “Everything’s been totally fine and great here. Why do you ask?” He hastily plastered a smile on his face. 

Connie shot him a look, and he grimaced. She knew him too well. “How are you _really_?” 

“I missed you,” he said after a minute. His lips curved into something resembling a genuine if nervous smile. “Do you want to see my plants?” 

“I missed you too,” she said, “and I would love to see your plants.” 

He stepped aside and invited her into the greenhouse, and she brushed past him as she stepped inside. She smelled faintly of vanilla. 

Connie stood in the center of the greenhouse, turning in a circle to take it all in. “Wow, Steven…” she said. 

“You…like it?” he said, scratching the back of his head. 

She grinned. “I didn’t know you were such a talented gardener.” 

He ducked his head. “Oh, I’m not. I’ve just…had a lot of time to practice.” 

“Still,” Connie said. “I wouldn’t know the first thing about gardening.” 

“It’s not as hard as it looks,” he said. “It’s a lot of patience and nurturing… I could show you some time. I’m, um, actually not that busy since…” 

“Since you quit Little Homeschool?” Connie asked. 

“Yeah,” he said. He took a seat, cross-legged, on the floor of the greenhouse and stared up at all of the plants, not meeting Connie’s gaze. 

She took a seat next to him on the floor and continued to look at him. “How come you quit?” she asked. 

He shrugged. “I don’t like graduations… and to be honest, I wasn’t very good at it.” 

“Really?” Connie said. He glanced at her—she seemed surprised. “I thought you were doing a great job. The first class of Little Homeschool was so successful.” 

“You think so?” he asked. 

“Yeah,” she said. “The Off-Colors seemed so happy last time I saw them.” 

Steven smiled. “Thanks.” 

“Of course,” she said. “Anyway, speaking of school, mine is having a dance this weekend.” 

“Oh, yeah?” Steven said. He felt a pang—even Connie’s life was going on without him, but he tried to look excited for her. “Are you going to go?” 

“I don’t know,” she said, smiling. “I haven’t found a partner yet.” 

“Oh. Have you asked anyone at your school?” 

“Actually,” she said, still smiling, “I was thinking about asking you.” 

He blinked, heat rising to his face. “M-me? B-but I don’t go to your school.” 

“We’re allowed to bring guests,” she said. “That is—if you want to go?” 

“Uh—yes!” he said quickly. “I definitely wanna go!” 

Connie grinned. “Really? Awesome! It’ll be so cool for you to meet my school friends.” 

_School friends._ “Y-yeah, that sounds great.” Of course Connie had friends at school. Connie probably had lots of friends. She was the coolest. 

“How about you meet me at my house this Saturday and we can go to the dance together?” she said. 

“Sure,” he said. “I can take the Dondai.” 

“Great!” Connie said. She looked so genuinely happy that Steven felt the knot of twisted emotions in his chest loosen for the first time in days. 

“It’s so good to see you,” he said, drinking in the sight of her. How she sat with her legs underneath her, how her dark brown hair fell to just below her shoulders, how she looked at him intently as though she were really _seeing_ him, not just his surface, but all of him, his entirety. And how even though she saw his entirety, she seemed to find something there that was worth loving anyway. 

Her expression softened, and she scooched over to lean against him. “It is. Sorry I was away for so long.” 

He let out a deep sigh of relief at her touch and tentatively put his arm around her. “It’s okay,” he mumbled into her hair. “I know you were busy studying so you can become president one day.” 

She laughed and poked his leg playfully. “Steven! I told you! I don’t want to become president! I want to be—“ 

“An astronaut, I know, I know,” he said, smiling. “But you’ve already been to space! And think of all the good you could do here on Earth!”

“I’ll take that under advisement,” she said. “What about you?” 

“What about me?” he asked. 

“What do you want to be?” she asked. “Now that the Earth is free…you can pretty much be whatever you want.”

He stiffened. “Oh, I don’t know. I’m…still thinking about.” 

“Oh,” Connie said. “That’s okay. There’s no rush.” 

“Thanks,” he said. But that didn’t help how lost he felt.

* * *

Steven drove the Dondai slowly along Connie’s street before carefully pulling into her driveway and parking the car. It was 6:30 on the dot. He got out of the car and headed for her front door. 

He had tried to dress nicely for the occasion, donning a navy blue suit jacket, white button-down shirt, and matching navy blue trousers, and he’d brought along a bouquet of white carnations—all of these decisions had made sense to him at the time. A suit with no tie to avoid overdressing, a bouquet of carnations to avoid roses, but now he just felt nervous as he knocked once, twice, three times, on the door to Connie Maheswaran’s house. 

Thankfully, it was Connie who answered the door with such enthusiasm she had probably jumped from her seat when she’d heard him knocking. “Steven!” she said. “You’re right on time!” 

“Connie,” he said, smiling. She was wearing a dress—by chance, navy blue—that had silver sequins sprinkled across the top of it like stars and a skirt that fell to her ankles like a waterfall, and her hair was pulled back in a bun. “You look beautiful.” 

She blushed. “Thanks, Steven. You look nice too.” 

“I, uh, got you something.” He handed her the bouquet. 

“Oh, they’re beautiful!” She said, taking them. “Come in, I want to put these in water.” 

He followed her into the house, and she led him into the kitchen where she cut the ends off the flowers and put them in a tall glass that might’ve been a vase or it might’ve been an oddly shaped cup. She plucked one from the vase and stuck the stem into the knot of her hair. 

She grinned at him. “So?” 

“Here, let me,” he said, making his way over to her and carefully rearranging the carnation so it sat neatly in her hair and cutting off the left over stem. He took a picture on his phone and showed it to her. “How’s that?” 

“Perfect!” she said and took his arm. “You ready to go?” 

He nodded. “I’m all set.” 

“Great!” she said and led him towards the door, calling over her shoulder, “Mom, Dad! I’m going with Steven now!” 

“Have fun, honey!” Doug called from another room. 

“Uh, bye, Mr. Maheswaran!” Steven called. He followed Connie out the door, and they descended the porch steps. Steven hopped into the driver’s seat of the Dondai and put the keys in the ignition. Connie slid into the passenger seat next to him. 

“Where are we headed?” he asked, pulling out of the driveway. 

“Just to my school,” she said. “Take a right turn up ahead.” 

He nodded and turned on the cassette player. The last tape he’d put in began to play—Sadie and Shep’s demo. _I’m looking forward, I’m looking forward now._

“I really like Sadie’s new music,” Connie said, “but I am kind of sad Sadie Killer and the Suspects broke up. Their music tackled really important themes like the inherent cruelties of capitalism.” 

“Yeah,” Steven said, keeping his eyes on the road. He wasn’t quite certain he knew what “inherent” meant, and he was only kind of sure he knew what “capitalism” was, but he agreed with the sentiment. “Sadie Killer and the Suspects was what caused Sadie to finally quit working at the Big Donut, and it was my first big gig as a roadie and a member of a band.” 

“Gosh, you’re right,” said Connie thoughtfully. “They were a great band.” 

“Yeah, they really were,” he mumbled. 

“Hey,” said Connie. Steven could feel her eyes on him. “You okay?” 

He shrugged, staring down the street. There was a fork in the road coming up. Was Connie’s school on the left or the right? 

“Steven?” 

“It’s just… hard when things change,” he said. “Did you know Lars and the Off-Colors went back into space? Blue Lace Agate is running Lars’ bakery now.” 

“Oh, I didn’t know that. I wasn’t able to make it to Beach City for graduation. I’m sorry.” 

“It’s okay, I know you’re busy.” 

“I know, but it would’ve been nice to wish everybody a good bye. It’s sad that so many people are leaving Beach City at the same time.” 

“Connie, which way do I turn?” Steven said quietly. 

“It’s on the left,” Connie said. “Do you mind if I put some different music on?” 

“No, go ahead,” Steven said, relieved. 

Connie rummaged around in the glove compartment which Greg always kept well-stocked with CDs and cassette tapes. She switched the tape for a CD, and a new song started to play. Steven recognized it from the first few notes—it was his dad’s demo record, featuring such hits as “Comet” and “Let Me Drive My Van Into Your Heart”. 

Steven smiled. His dad’s music always brought back good memories—of summer days spent at the car wash and winter nights curled up in the van. 

“Oh, we’re here!” said Connie. “Turn right!” 

“Oh! Okay!” Steven took a hard right and pulled into the parking lot of a huge concrete building labeled East Delmarva Regional High School. “This place is huge,” he said. 

“It’s a regional school. We get kids from all over.” 

“Really?” said Steven. “What about Beach City?” 

“I think so, yeah,” Connie said. 

Steven got out of the car and rounded it to let Connie out, offering her a hand, which she took, and the two walked side by side up towards the imposing silhouette of the high school. 

“Does anyone I know go here?” 

“I’m not sure. Beach City is a pretty small town, and this is a pretty big school. I really don’t know a lot of people outside of my friends,” Connie said. 

“Oh. That’s okay! I’m sure that they’re great.”

Connie directed him to the door, saying, “They’re pretty cool. I’m sure you’ll like them. They’re excited to meet you.” 

“O-oh? They are?” She’d told her friends about him? 

“Of course!” she said, pulling two tickets from her purse and handing them to the ticket taker at the door who said, “At the end of the hall on the right.” 

Connie thanked her and ushered Steven inside. They were standing in a corridor that stretched out both left and right. The walls were decorated with trophies and sports jerseys and plaques, interspersed with tv monitors that said things like “Delmarva Dolphins Pride!” or showed pictures of the school. 

“I told them you were coming,” Connie said, as they walked down the hall to the right. It ended in a big pair of wooden double doors, but they were currently propped open, and light, music, and laughter spilled out—the sounds of a party. “They’re excited to meet the savior of the galaxy, Steven Universe himself.” 

She nudged him playfully, and he laughed nervously. “I hope I can live up to the hype.” 

Connie laughed. “Don’t worry about that, Steven. Just be yourself.” 

Himself? He hardly even knew who that was anymore, but he nodded and forced a smile. “Yeah, you’re right.” 

They passed through the open double doors and into a large room that Steven realized was the school gymnasium, decorated for the occasion with streamers and lights in the school colors green and blue. Music was playing through big speakers, and a fold-out table was set up with drinks. Dozens of teenagers in formal wear milled about in groups or couples, some of them dancing, some just mingling. Two or three beleaguered teachers stood against the walls, surveying the scene critically. 

Steven smiled. “This is just what I thought a high school dance would look like.” 

“Yeah, it looks pretty good,” Connie said. “The planning committee did a good job, especially considering the budget constraints. Oh, look, I think I see some of my friends. Come on, Steven!” 

“O-okay!” He followed her across the gymnasium floor, dodging other teenagers, until they stopped by a group of three students who all appeared to be around Connie’s age. 

“No way!” said one of them, a girl wearing a hot pink dress with cornrow braids that went down to her waist. “He really exists! Connie, this is Steven, right?” 

“Um, hi,” said Steven. “Yeah, that’s me.” 

“Hey, everybody,” said Connie, grinning. “This is Steven. Steven, meet Andrea, Will, and Jeff.” She gestured at them each in turn. Andrea was the girl in the hot pink dress. On closer inspection, it was covered with sequins, and she had eyes the color of honey. Next to her was Will, who had a shaggy orange undercut and was wearing a seafoam green dress. On the other side of Will was Jeff, a very average looking boy with brown hair who was wearing a black vest, white shirt, and dress pants. 

“It’s nice to meet you,” Steven said. He looked at Jeff. “Are you the kid whose arm Connie broke?” 

Jeff grinned. Connie gasped. “Steven!” 

“She told you about that?” 

“She might’ve mentioned it,” Steven said, smiling. 

“Yeah, that was our first meeting,” Jeff said. 

“Did she make a good first impression?” Steven asked. 

“Steven!” Connie protested. “Don’t make fun of me! Our first meeting involved you trapping us in a bubble for several hours!” 

Steven blushed. “I was like, twelve!” That had been so embarrassing. He’d been such an idiot back then. 

Connie laughed and smiled at him, and that made him feel better. She always did. 

“A bubble?” said Will curiously. “Wait, what? What happened?” 

“Haven’t I told you guys?” Connie said at the same time Steven said, “Oh, no, do we have to tell them?” 

“Oh, please!” said Will. “Now I’m curious!” 

“Come on,” begged Andrea. “Please, Connie?” 

Steven sighed, smiling a bit sheepishly, and nodded at Connie who grinned at him and started talking. 

“So I was in Beach City one afternoon, just reading a book on the beach, when suddenly I notice this boy riding _his bike on the sand_ …” 

Steven groaned but let Connie continue the story, interjecting occasionally. 

"You kept that glow bracelet for her?” Andrea said. “That is _so_ cute.” 

Steven laughed and scratched the back of his head. “Th-thanks?” 

Will nodded. “You two make such a cute couple!” 

Connie’s eyes widened, and Steven felt heat rise to his face. “N-no, no!” Connie said. “I told you guys, we’re not together!” 

Steven forced a laugh, too loud to be sincere. “Yeah, we’re just friends. Definitely not a couple. That would be, um, silly.” He hoped he sounded convincing, but he was just trying to follow Connie’s lead. She obviously didn’t want them to be a couple, or she would’ve said something by now. If she wanted to be with him, then they would be, because obviously, he wanted to be with her, and he always had. 

Steven didn’t believe in love at first sight—Garnet had told him love takes work, and love takes commitment—but he did believe that when two souls were meant to be, they could recognize each other. Ruby and Sapphire had sensed something, a possibility, between them when they had first met, and that was how Steven had felt when he’d first seen Connie—a kind of recognition, like she was someone he had always known. 

“Y-yeah!” said Connie hurriedly. “Silly.” 

Steven felt hurt despite himself. He was the one who had said it, but he didn’t think it would be silly if they were a couple. He thought it would be amazing. 

“Really?” said Andrea. “I totally thought from the way you always go on about him that he was your boyfriend.” 

“Andrea!” Will said. “Connie said they’re not together! I'm sorry, you two. I shouldn’t have assumed.” 

“Oh, it’s okay!” Steven said hurriedly. His face felt warm. Connie talked about him a lot? Enough to make Andrea think they were dating? 

Connie’s cheeks were flushed dark, and Steven’s stomach lurched—she was uncomfortable. To his relief, Jeff changed the subject. 

“So you’re from Beach City, Steven?” he asked. “What’s that like?” 

“Oh! Yeah, it’s great,” Steven said, relieved that the conversation had turned to safer matters. He could happily talk about Beach City as long as he ignored all of the residents who were leaving it. He focused on the constants, the restaurants along the boardwalk, the sun setting over the ocean, the objects and curios that washed up on the beach, and tried to paint a brief picture of what life in Beach City was like. 

“Neat,” said Jeff. “There are some kids from Beach City who go here, but I’ve never been. It sounds cool.” 

Steven smiled. “Hehe, yeah. Where are you guys from?” 

“I’m from Ocean Town,” said Andrea. 

Steven grinned. “Are you still on fire?” 

“Not anymore!” Andrea said, grinning back. “And at least, we’re not Jersey!” 

“I live in the country,” Will said. “And Jersey’s not so bad! My grandparents live up there!” 

“Jersey’s nice,” Steven said tactfully. As a Beach City citizen, it was a matter of course to take digs at Ocean Town, but he had nothing against Jersey. “It’s not as nice as the Empire State.” 

“Oh my god!” said Andrea. “Have you been? I _so_ want to visit Empire City over break, but my mom won’t take me.” 

“Yeah, it was cool. We stayed at a fancy hotel and everything.” Steven smiled nostalgically. It had been a fond memory, one of his finer moments, bringing his family closer together, but now it had a bittersweet edge to it. They had reconciled. They had no need for him anymore. He should be happy about it, and yet he wasn’t quite. 

He realized Connie’s friends were talking about their favorite vacations, and he shook himself slightly, jolting back to the present. He needed to be here, right now, for Connie’s sake as well as his own. 

He focussed his attention back on her, wondering if she was having a good time. To his relief, she was smiling as she listened to her friends chatter. She caught his eye, and her smile grew wider. His heart skipped a beat. 

“My mom is terrible to go on vacation with,” she said. “She’s a total control freak, and it takes all the fun out of it. Steven is way more fun to go vacationing with.” 

Steven grinned sheepishly. “I don’t know if you could call our trips _vacations_. We’re usually in mortal peril anytime we go somewhere cool.” 

“That’s part of the fun,” she said teasingly. “Surviving the punishment of nature and everything.” 

Everybody laughed. 

“Oh!” said Will. “That reminds me! We should go camping sometime now that the weather is getting nice again!” 

“Sure, that sounds like fun,” Andrea said. 

Connie and Jeff nodded in agreement. 

“You should come too, Steven!” said Will. 

“O-oh, really?” said Steven, surprised but happy to be included. 

“Yeah!” said Connie enthusiastically. “That would be so much fun!” 

“W-well, okay!” said Steven. "That would be great.” 

They chatted for a bit, and it was nice, surprisingly nice. He’d almost forgotten how nice it was to be around other humans, and he’d never known how nice it was to just be part of a group, not the unfortunate burden or reluctant leader. Connie’s friends saw him as just another kid, maybe a bit of an odd one, but a peer nonetheless. 

It felt really nice. 

After a while, they made their way onto the dance floor. Connie turned to him and said, “Hey, Steven. Wanna dance?” Her dark eyes sparkled with warmth. 

Heat rose to Steven’s cheeks, and he nodded excitedly. “I’d love to.” He seized her proffered hand like it was a lifeline and let him drag him out onto the floor with a sudden sense of deja vu. 

He put his hands on her waist, and she put her arms around his neck, and they swayed. The DJ was playing some soft song Steven remembered hearing in the Big Donut once and the other teenagers laughed and murmured to each other around him, but looking into her eyes the whole world seemed to fall silent. 

“Are you having a good time?” she asked. “Sorry, my friends can be kind of a lot.” 

“N-no, they’re great,” Steven said. “Thanks for inviting me. I think I needed some time away from the Gems.” 

Connie smiled. “I get that. Sometimes I feel like I need time away from my parents too.” 

Steven smiled and laughed in relief. “They can just be so much sometimes, you know?” 

“Oh, definitely,” said Connie. “The other day my mom sent me a text with three questions marks because I was late coming home from school. She was totally freaking out, and guess what?” 

“What?” said Steven. 

“The bus was just late! Everything was totally fine!” Connie said exasperatedly. “How ridiculous, right?” 

Steven laughed, and Connie laughed too, and his heart flipped in his chest. He seized her by the waist and spun her around, her hands tightening to cling to his neck as she continued laughing. 

He glowed pink, and there was a burst of white light, and then they stood up straight, pushing back their mass of fluffy black hair and looking down at themself in surprise. They wore a blue jacket over a glittering navy dress over matching trousers and no shoes. 

“Oh, I’m sorry, I—“ 

“Are you kidding? This is great!” Stevonnie interrupted themself. “I missed being me.” 

They wrapped their arms tightly around their chest and gasped suddenly, at the sensation of a dull, knotted pain inside of their ribcage, close to their heart. “ _Oh_. Steven…”

The sound of murmured confusion and shock met their ears, and their eyes snapped up to look at Connie’s friends. The three of them were staring at Stevonnie with wide eyes. Andrea’s mouth was hanging open. 

“Not here,” Stevonnie decided. They took off towards the door, bare feet smacking against the linoleum of the gymnasium floor, and hastily throwing apologies and assurances at Jeff, Andrea, and Will. They pushed through the doors and hurried down the hall into the first empty room that was unlocked. It was, appropriately enough, an all gender bathroom. 

Stevonnie froze in front of the sink. There was a glow of white light, and then Steven was standing with his back to the door, and Connie was facing him. He didn’t meet her gaze. 

“Steven…” she said. Her voice was gentle and concerned, but it twisted his gut with shame. “You’re in pain.” 

“I’m okay,” he said—a hollow mantra that he didn’t believe anymore. 

“Steven,” she said again. “You don’t need to lie to me.” 

He felt a soft touch on his arm, and he gasped, looking up to find she was right in front of him, her dark brown eyes full of tender warmth. “You _can’t_ lie to me,” she said. “You know what it’s like when we fuse. It’s like… Your thoughts and my thoughts stop being separate. They blur into each other until I can’t tell where my feelings end and yours begin.” 

“I know,” he said quietly. “It’s one of the best feelings there is.” 

“Exactly,” she barreled on. Connie was a force of nature when she got worked up, and Steven loved that about her. “So why would you hide your feelings from me?” 

“I—“ He looked away. “I’m sorry.” 

"You don't need to _apologize_ ,” she said, clutching his hand. It sent warmth all the way up his arm. “I just want you to _talk_ to me.” 

“O-okay,” he said. 

“So let’s talk,” she said. 

“N-now? Aren’t your friends going to—?” 

“My friends can wait,” she said firmly. “I want to talk to _you_. When we were fused, I felt this—this dull _ache_ in my chest.” She clasped her hands over her heart. “It was like…like sadness and pain and—and maybe loneliness? It’s really hard to put into words, but I know those weren’t my feelings so they must be yours.” 

“They were,” he admitted quietly. 

“I didn’t know,” she said.

“Didn’t know what?” 

“That you were hurting!” she said. Her beautiful eyes were filled with the guilt—the last thing he wanted to see. The last thing he’d wanted in any of this was for her to be hurt too. That was why he’d avoided sharing his feelings for so long. 

“It’s okay!” he said urgently. “You were so busy, and I just wanted for us to have a good time tonight.” 

“But you know I would make time for you, don’t you?” she pressed. 

“I—“ Of course, she would. She was Connie, his dearest, closest friend. It wasn’t that he didn’t think she would make time for him. It was that— “I don’t… deserve to take up your time with my problems.” 

“Steven!” Connie gasped. “What are you saying?” 

To his surprise, she seemed almost angry, and he hurried to say something, but he didn’t know what. “I didn’t—I just—Um…” 

She grabbed his face in her hands and looked him dead in the eye. His heart rate skyrocketed. “Steven, you listen to me,” she said. “I want you to talk to me. I want to be a part of your life. You got it?” 

“I—I got it,” he said weakly. Inexplicably, he felt tears welling up in his eyes. _I guess that was just what I needed to hear,_ he thought. 

She smiled and released him, trailing her hands down his arms to take his hands. “Let’s talk,” she said again. 

He nodded this time and brushed at his eyes. “I guess it’s just um—“ he swallowed. “It feels like everyone is leaving me for bigger and better things and I’m just—stuck here. Alone. I-I don’t know what to do with myself.” He swallowed back more tears. 

“Hey, hey,” Connie said soothingly. “It’s okay. You can cry. It’s just me. I’m not going to leave you.” She stretched out her arms, and Steven, without thinking, fell into them. It just felt so natural and right to be with her, to be in her arms. 

“I’ve missed you so much,” he murmured. “I can’t talk to the Gems like I can talk to you, and Dad’s been out of town so much, and I just—“ He drew in a shaky breath and let it out with a sob. 

“I’m here now,” she said, tracing gentle circles on his broad back. “I’m sorry I haven’t been there for you.” 

He shook his head, face pressed into the curve of her shoulder. “No, no, it’s okay.” 

“Shh,” she shushed him gently. “You don’t need to pretend that it’s okay. Just accept the apology. You don’t need to ignore your own feelings to make others feel better.” 

“Connie, how are you so smart?” he asked with a watery laugh. 

“Well, I’ve been seeing a therapist for a few years, and I picked up a thing or two from my best friend.” 

Steven blinked a few times, tears slipping from his eyes. “Me?” 

“Of course, you, silly. You’re telling me things like that all the time. You always know just what to say to make everyone around you feel better. Why don’t you take your own advice?” 

He gave another watery laugh. “I don’t know. I guess I’ve just been acting p-pretty stupid, huh?” 

“Oh, Steven,” she said. She held him tightly and pressed a kiss to the top of his head. “You’re not stupid at all.” 

His cheeks burned. “That’s a relief,” he mumbled. 

She drew back to look at him. “So tell me honestly,” she said, “do you wanna be here tonight? Because if not, we don’t have to be. We can go wherever you want.” 

“N-no, no! I wanna stay,” he said hurriedly. “I really do want to meet your friends.” He really did. The last few weeks had been so lonely, and any friends of Connie’s were sure to be good people. 

She smiled and took his hand. “Okay then,” she said. “I’ll be right here with you. I’m not going anywhere any time soon.” 


End file.
